Why I Read: The Specialists
Hi, everybody. Delta-v is back, and I have another favorite webcomic to tell you about. The premise is simple, but profound. What if the Nazis had been able to develop Ubermenschen (Super-men). How would that have affected World War II? Both Co-author Shawn Gustafson and Artist/Co-author Al Fukalek said it was all right, so history buffs, prepare, and non history buff who just like a good yarn, join in, and we will journey back in time to a past that never was, but might, just might have been as we take a look at The Specialists.
Synopsis:
The first thread in this tapestry is Baron Johann von Schadel, as the comic opens with him searching North Africa for “The Orb”, an artifact of enormous magical power which he pans to use to aid the German war effort–and make himself famous.
Cut to the U.S. and the second thread, 15 year old M.I.T. Master’s Degree holder Maksim (Max) Finklestein, as he works on “The Golem” which he is developing under contract with the U.S. Government for the Allied war effort. It isn’t going well. The Golem, a roughly 10 foot tall anthropomorphic robot–not quite Mechwarrior, although there are some similar features–which can perform any task it is designed for, except walk.
Back in Germany, Baron von Shadel has managed to produce four Ubermenschen.
These are: (Left to right) Magda Keller, or Die Hexe (The Witch). Magic user. Konstantin Hirsch, or Panzer (Panther–the German name for a tank). Living metal, immensely strong and practically indestructable. Ingo Rosenheim, or Geist (Ghost). He actually is a ghost, immaterial, and capable of possessing a living victim. Reiner Wirtz, or Max Schnell (pun on mach schnell–“make it quick”). Very, very fast moving. With Baton von Schadel, or–much to his disgust–Baron Knochencreuz (Crossbones–another pun, see if you can find it), who is another magic user, and can also re-animate corpses, this group is his contribution to the Ubermenchen.
Unfortunately for him, he’s not the only one able to produce Ubermenchen, as mad scientist Doktor Bernard Metzger has developed a method using science instead of magic, which has the potential to produce as many Super-soldiers as the Nazis need. Meet Heinrich Loewe, or Der Arier.
With his arrogance (and unforgivable success) Metzger also created a deadly enemy in Baron von Schadel.
Back in the U.S. the Government tried a number of desperate programs to try to create their own Supers–with a spectacular lack of success. Science came to their rescue (sort of) as the “Promethius Reactor”was developed, a device about the size of a beer stein which produced enormous amounts of energy from two ounces of uranium, permitting useful augmentation devices–with some drawbacks.
The result of all this activity was a team called (surprise) The Specialists, each individual unique in their ability. At it’s inception, the team consisted of one spy, three augmented operatives, and two true Supers.
Once again, left to right: Mark (no other name), or “Question Mark”, spy. Henry Whitney III, or “Jack-Be-Nimble”. Operates a Hermes Exoskeleton. Another speedster. Captain Luke Jansen, or “Captain Victory”. True Super, sole survivor of the program which produced him. Great strength, bullet-proof skin, fast healing. Getz, PR flack. Agnes Deveraux, or Lady Liberty. True Super, also th e only survivor of her program. Psi powers, especially telekinesis. Dr. Kate Smallwood, or Lightning Lass. Operates the Zeus Gauntlets, which she helped develop. She is the only person left who is qualified to use them due to a lab accident which still haunts her. Fires lightning bolts. !st Lt. Walter Jones, or “The Bombardier”. The only person in his program to learn to use the Pegasus flight pack. He flies, and drops bombs.
They were later joined by another true Super–and by a fraud. The true Super didn’t come from any U.S. program, and wasn’t even from the U.S. or an allied nation. Remember Heinrich Loewe, “The Aryan”? This is his twin brother, Hartmann. Hartmann was given the test dose of the super-serum from Doktor Metzger, and it went horribly wrong.
That, and some other experiences at Metzger’s lab changed Hartmann’s life completely. Of course, very few believe him…….
Do you recall the problems young Max was having with the Golem? Well, he found a novel solution.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
How I Found It:
Dan interviewed Shawn and Al for our “Wednesday Spotlight”, and I clicked the link. They also have a presence on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
Why I Like It:
The first thing I look for in a new comic I find is the story. If the art is well done, too, that’s a bonus, The Specialists is one of the few where the art tells as much of the story as the dialog does. The characters are well thought out, and believable, and the art itself is extremely good, The guys have done their homework, here. The only anachronisms I could find were the ones caused by the premise itself, so they don’t count.
I found the depth each character has to be remarkable. Layer upon layer of complexity, of scarred, sometimes still bleeding psyches, of conflicting desires…… Even the simplest characters are more than their surface. Luke’s repressed anger, Agnes’ depression, even Henry’s desperate bid for paternal approval, all are believably portrayed. If the Nazis seem blanker, more rigid, less human, it’s because they have each subordinated their personality to the Cause, not because they don’t have one. The comic is very interesting even viewed from the psychology of it alone.
I was also quite taken with the boldness and daring of killing off popular or important characters. It is, of course, wartime, and death is a stark reminder of that, but there is a general reluctance among authors to resist ending a character that they have put a lot of effort and energy into developing, so Al and Shawn should be commended for being able to let go when it was necessary.
Shawn and Al’s unflinching look at racism and bigotry also deserves mention. It may seem strange that people in those days who decried the Nazi attitude that the Aryan race was superior to all others didn’t see the same tendency in themselves concerning those whom they considered “lesser”. It was an unfortunate aspect of life, so common as to escape notice unless something called it forcibly to mind. The guys nailed it from the most blatant examples to the smallest.
And then there’s the artwork. Al’s line art and subtle shading works well with the subject matter, and I really appreciate being able to see it clearly. I have found it interesting and faintly amusing that the great majority of the pages have dealt with some pretty monochrome settings; desert, snow, military base, things which haven’t given Al much chance to stretch, so it’s especially nice when he gets a chance to spread his wings a bit, and express himself in color. The body language and character expressions are first rate, and I like his use of perspective and depth. I know it’s not easy to make a flat surface seem to have that third dimension, but he pulls it off well. It’s also obvious from the detail that he does a lot of research with an eye toward accurate depiction, right down to things that are almost subliminal, and I, for one, appreciate it.
Things That Could Be Better:
In the Archive, for the first three chapters there were occasional page descriptions that I found very helpful for finding a particular page, but there are none in chapter 4 and I miss them. Other than that, everything is fine.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, I find The Specialists very engrossing, and a good, solid read. I may be a little strange, (well, okay, yeah I am a lot strange) but I enjoy the comments and the commenters, too and am very impressed at the number of commenters from all over the globe. I would highly recommend this comic to anyone who enjoys ‘What If’ historical fiction, but also those who simply want a good adventure. I would also highly recommend joining in on the comments, and as always, vote for The Specialists on The Top Web Comics Top 100 site. And you can start right HERE.